English Court of Appeal upholds judgment sentencing Ablyazov to prison

November 7 2012, 09:52

M. Ablyazov Photo resource - itar-tass.comFormer BTA Bank Chairman Mukhtar Ablyazov lost his appeal against two major High Court decisions. One sentenced him to 22 month of imprisonment terms for contempt of court. The other required him to turn himself in to the relevant authorities and make proper disclosure of his assets or forfeit the right to defend eight of the claims against him brought by BTA Bank, with a combined value of over $6 billion. This victory will help expedite the recovery of assets misappropriated from the Bank by Ablyazov.

Mr Ablyazov fled England after learning in February this year that the English High Court was to send him to prison. On the heels of that judgment, in February 2012, the Bank succeeded in getting the court to issue two ‘Unless’ Orders against Mr Ablyazov. These orders required him to surrender to the English authorities and disclose his assets or forfeit his right to defend the proceedings against him, Bank’s press service reports.

Mr Ablyazov appealed against these judgments and the Court of Appeal today upheld Mr Justice Teare’s decision. The Bank will now seek to enter judgment against Mr Ablyazov and commence enforcement against his assets.

BTA Bank launched legal proceedings against Mr Ablyazov in 2009 to recover billions of dollars of assets it alleges were misappropriated from the Bank under his leadership. The claims are worth over $6 billion, making this one of the largest fraud cases ever heard in the High Court.

The High Court sentenced Mr Ablayzov to three concurrent 22 month sentences on 16 February 2012, finding him in contempt of court for failing to comply with court orders requiring him to fully disclose his assets, cease dealings with assets, and repatriate any assets which were disposed of in breach of the orders.